Detachable fastening device



y 1960 A. SCHNECKENBERGER 2,944,311

DETACHABLE FASTENING nsvxca Filed March 28, 1957 ADOLF SCHNECKENBERGERINVENTOR.

DETACHABLE FASTENING DEVICE Adolf Schneckenberger, Gernsbacher, StraseNr. 70, Baden-Baden, Germany H Filed Mar. 28, 1957, Ser. No. 649,149Claims priority, application' Germany Oct. 20, 1956 3 Claims. c1. 24-104My present invention relates to a device for the detachable fastening ofbuttons and similar'appendages on fabrics such as textiles, knitted orfelted materials and the like.

conventionally, buttons are sewn by the ordinary buttonhole stitch to agarment and are thus undetachably made fast thereto. While the sewnbutton is a timehonored adjunct to many pieces of wearing apparel, theconcept of a detachable fastening device, enabling ready reattachment ofa button to any part of a fabric surface, has also been universallyrecognized and accepted as desirable;

Some form of detachable button is already a wellknown and even mandatoryitem in, for example, military uniform equipage. In the armed forces,where the uniform garment. is traditionally well cared for, it was longago found advantageous to employ detachable buttons so that theuniformcould be cleaned, pressed, etc. withthe buttons. first removed therefromto obviate chip: ping or breakage and the discoloring effects ofdrycleaning and steam-heating on both the buttons and the garment areaadjacent-thereto. r

The detachable button has also long since come into its own in,WOIIIBIIS-WEQI' fabrics. A ready example is that of. the budget-mindedwoman whose wardrobe features one 'ortwo basic dresses. She can vary theappearance' of these dresses merely by keeping on hand several sets finterchangeable adornment buttons adapted for quick attachmentwhenever'desired. Ladies-wear manufacturers are even known to supplyextra detachable buttons as an accessory to stimulate dress sales. Largedetachable buttons are frequently noted to adorn ladies cotton handbags,sometimes performing the utility of the handbag-opening device.Bedspreads, linens, and draperies often have detachable buttons disposedin a decorative pattern. Childr'ens clothes often display the same.Outsize detachable buttons alternate with scatter pins as a ladiescostume-jewelry adornment.

Generally, detachable buttons in current use have a common handicap inthat the arrangement by which they are secured to a garment formsobjectionable rearward protrusions in the form of eyelet hooks, pinpongs, threaded shanks or the like. These snag-like or lancet likeprojections make contact with portions of an inner adjacent garmentsooner or later resulting in damage to the latter. Inmilitary-uniform-supply circles, cognizance was in fact taken of thistype of damage to the extent that the uniform blouse was equipped with asewnin veneer material to act as a buffer between the dress shirt andthe exposed or protruding parts of the buttons rear linkage. This, ofcourse, represents an indirect rather than a direct attempt at solutionof this problem.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide animprovedfastening device adapted detachably to secure a button or the like toall kinds of fabrics.

A more particular object of the present invention is to provide meansfor giving to such fastening device a smboth, over-all configurationcalculated to render its operation innocuous to garment areas adjacentthereto.

In accordance with a feature of the invention there is provided atwo-part shell housing which, in co-operation with a hook-shaped link,serves to anchor'a button or like appendage to the fabric. This shellhousing consists of two preferably circularv parts, i.e.v' an innercasing and an outer cover, which when joined together prevent thewithdrawal of the hook-shaped link. The portion of the link remote. fromthe housing forms an abutment adapted to be positioned exteriorlyathwart the hole or holesof the button, thus holding the latter fastagainst the garment, While a needleethin shank extends from thisabutment through the buttonhole, the garment material, and' an apertureof the shell housings inner casing and terminates in a transverse pronghaving a pointed end. Normally, i.e. with the link secured to the buttonand to the garment in the manner described, this prong rests parallel tothe major faces of the housing which encloses it.

In a preferred embodiment of the above feature, the link is designed tocooperate with conventional two-hole or four-hole buttons and isprovided, for this purpose, with two parallel shanks each having apointed prong. In this case, the abutment at the head of the shanks isformed, advantageously, by a bar interconnecting-the two shanks. In thenormal position of use, this bar is fiat against the button, holding itfast against the garment, and the twin prongs are enclosed within theshell housing, extending parallel to one another and to the major facesthereof. With four-hole buttons, two twinshanked links may be,v anchoredto a common housing, thepairs of prongs pointing in opposite directionsaway from each other. I

The above and otherobjects and features of the invention will becomemore fully apparent from the following detailed description, referencebeing made tothe accompanying drawingin which: V v

Fig. 1 is an'axial section ofa two-hole button provided with adetachable fastening device according to the inven- The device as shownin Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a shankless two-hole button 1, e.g. of boneor plastic, secured to a piece of garment material 2 by a transversecentral bridge portion or bar 6 (Fig. 3) of a hookshaped link S-made,preferably, of stainless-steel wire. The bar is joined at each end to ashank portion 7 (Fig. 3) continuing perpendicularly downward through therespective buttonholes and through the garment material. The two freeends 8 (Fig. 3) of the link 5 form pointed prongs curving away fromthese shank portions at right angles thereto and are shown receivedwithin and positioned parallel to the major faces of a circular shellhousing 11 composed of an inner casing 9 and an outer cover 10 eachhaving an annular flange interrupted by v a marginal cutout 12, 13. Thelegs 7, 8 pass through aligned holes 4, 14 in the button 1 and in thecasing 9, respectively. Closure of the shell housing 11 is effected byaligning the respective cutouts 12, 13 of housing parts 9, 10 andsnap-fitting them together. For reopening the shell housing, the cutouts12, 13 offer an interstitial PatentedJuly 12,1960

is aperspective view of a two-pronged link.

space for easy purchase by an inserted tool, blade or the like whichpries casing 9 and outer cover 10 quickly apart. Also, these cutouts.impart a certain resiliency tothe interlocking. slightly conical. flangeportions of they two housing parts 9, 10. and insure their firminteremgagement. It will be noted that the clearance between these housingparts; is.- narrow-enough. to prevent. with drawal of link whenthehousing 11. is closed. The flat-bottomed housing cannot damage anygarmentsworn adjacent the fabricZ.

The device as shown in Fig. 4 comprises a. shankless four-hole. button1' secured to a piece of garment material 2. as in Figs. 1 and 2, butemploying. two twinshanked links 5 traversing two pairs'of holes 4 as.well.

as the garment material 2 and anchored within. a. common housing 11,having two similar pairs of holes, with the two pairs of. prongspointing away from each. other in,

opposite directions, as'illustrated by dotted, lines.

The modified device shown in Fig. 5 comprises a button 1' with loopedshank la' secured to a piece of garment material 2 by the tranversecentral. portion or bar 6 (Fig. 3) of a hook-shaped link 5. The link 5,penetrating the garment material in the manner already described, isreceived and anchored within a housing 11" composed of an inner casing9a and an outer cover 10a, which in this modification have threads ontheir cylindrical flange surfaces enabling a screwed closure of the twohousing parts and dispensing Withthe cutouts 1-2, 13 of Fig. 2.

The invention is, of, course, not limited to the specific embodimentsdescribed. and illustrated but may be realized in numerous modificationsand adaptations without departing from the spirit and scope of theappended claims. Thus it will be understood, for example, that theinvention may be used with buttons of other than circular configurationand that, if desired, a link 5 (or a single leg 7, 8 thereof) may alsobe rigidly secured to a button as a permanent shank thereof.

I claim:

1. in combination, a button having at least one pair of holes; ahousing; a piece offabric between said button and said housing; saidhousing comprising a generally circular first shell member having atleast one pair of apertures aligned with said pair of holes and a secondgenerally circular shell member. detachably engaging said first shellmember; and. a wire, link detachably connect- .in-g; said button with;said housing; said wire link comprising a pair of parallel shankstraversing said holes with small clearance, said fabric and saidapertures, a bridge element interconnecting said shanks at one end andpreventing disengagement of said button from said link, and a pair ofpointed, parallel prongs rigid with said shanks and extendingtransversely thereto within said housing; said shell" members engagingeach other with so little spacing. therebet veen; as; to; enablewithdrawal of said link from. saidhousingonly upon .detachment of saidsecond shellmember from said first shell member in a direction away fromsaid fabric; said prongs lying flat Within said housing andi making:loose lengthwisecontact with the inner surfaces of said shellmembers.

2. In combinatioma. button having two pairs of holes; a housing; a pieceof fabric between said button and said housing; said housing comprisinga first generally circular shell'rnernber having two pairs of aperturesaligned with. said pairs of holes and a. second generally circular shellmember detachabl'y engaging said first shell member; and two wire linksdetachably connecting, said buttonwith saidhousing; said wire linkscomprising each a pair of parallel shanks traversing two of said holes,said'fabric and two of said apertures, a bridge element interconnectingsaid shanks at one end and preventing disengagement of said button" fromthe respective link, and a pair of pointed, parallel prongs rigid withsaid shanks and extending transversely thereto vw'thin said housing;said shell members engaging each other with so little spacingtherebetween as. to enable withdrawal of said links. from said housingonly upon detachment of said second shell member'from said first shellmemher; said prongs lying flat within said housing and making looselengthwise contact with the inner surfaces of said shell members.

V 3. The combination according to claim 2, wherein the prongs of saidhnks point away from each other within said housing.

References Cited inthe; file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS676,273 Platon .June 11', 1901' 950,289 Homing Feb. 22, 19.10, 1,455,357Ross May 15, 1923 2,453,227. Janes Nov. 9, 1948 2,613,418 I-banez Oct.14, 1952 2,688,782 Hayden .S'ept. 114,.1954

